1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to floating marker buoys and more particularly to a buoy that automatically collects and stores excess line between the marker buoy and an attached anchor.
2. Background
The use of buoys to mark a wide variety of structures in fluid conditions, for instance underwater hazards, communications line and utility lines as well as and anchors and the like. A variety of devices for marking the position of an anchor used to moor a watercraft are described in the prior art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,383,045, 6,086,439, 5,445,103 and 4,077,076 disclose marker buoys that include a housing that contains a line wound on a reel assembly positioned within the housing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,383,045 and 5,445,103. U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,103 describe marker buoys that include a housing that houses a light source and a flexible line wound on a reel assembly positioned within the housing have been previously disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,103 describes a marker buoy that includes a floating housing, a light, a battery, a spool with a line retractably held in the spool. In addition, the device described in the '103 patent describes a solar powered battery recharger. U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,308 describes a marker buoy that includes a drive motor mounted within a housing. The motor is activated by means of a toggle switch to manually toggle between on and off positions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,133 discloses a buoy system that automatically collects and stores excess line between a marker buoy and an anchor thereby minimizing the distance between the marker float and the anchor. A spring connected between the spool and the housing is tensioned as line is pulled from the spool provides the energy for line take-up.
Disadvantages persist in the design of marker buoys. To date there has not been provided a marker buoy that is capable of fully autonomous operation, from deployment of the buoy and an attached anchor, through operations wherein the buoy is capable of unattended line length compensation for waves, swells and tides so that the buoy remains at all times positioned substantially above the anchor on the water surface, through operations wherein the buoy and the attached anchor are retrieved and shipped and during the buoy operation while docked while the anchor is shipped. Many of the marker buoys commonly in use are set for a particular depth upon deployment and are incapable of self-adjusting the length of line deployed in order to maintain a relatively close position directly above the anchor, which is important if the buoy is to accurately indicate anchor location; too much line and the buoy no longer floats above the anchor, too little line and the buoy may become submerged. In those devices that are capable of adjustment of line length to compensate for wave, swell and tidal action, such ability to compensate is limited to the device's unpowered capacity to retrieve line.
What is needed is marker buoy which a marker buoy capable of fully autonomous operation and which requires no involvement by an operator in deploying, during deployment or upon retrieval of the buoy. Advantage may also be found in a marker buoy which once deployed, automatically energizes its lights during night anchoring, and de-energizes the lights during daytime.
Advantage may also be found in a marker buoy configured to automatically retrieve or deploy line to compensate for the rise and fall of the surface of the water as the tide rises and falls, thereby maintaining a position of the marker buoy that is substantially above the anchor on the water's surface. Advantage may also be found in a providing a marker buoy that accommodates the forces of wave action by absorbing the changes in wave height while maintaining positive buoyancy in a position that is substantially above the anchor on the water's surface. Additional advantage may be found in providing a marker buoy that is capable of deploying additional line when a selected line tension is sensed or retracting excess line when slack in the line is present.
Similarly advantage may be found in a marker buoy configured such that as a tension in the line attaching the marker buoy to an anchor decreases, the marker buoy rotates on its axis causing the energization of a motor adapted to retract the line. Advantage may also be found in a marker buoy that includes a controller having a motion responsive device that activates a motor operatively coupled to the line spool to retract line the line.
Additional advantage may be found in providing a marker buoy that automatically retracts line as anchor is raised. Advantage may also be found in a marker buoy which is configured so that upon retrieval, the buoy automatically turns off all but its charging operations.
Broadly speaking then, one objective of the present invention is to provide a marker buoy capable of fully autonomous operation and which requires no involvement by an operator in deploying, during deployment or upon retrieval of the buoy. The advantage to marking of a vessel's anchor provides valuable information to others entering an area for anchorage by aiding decisions of anchor scope as well as identifying areas of open anchorage. Another objective of the present invention then is to reduce the probability of inadvertent vessel to vessel collisions, tangled lines improving efficiencies in vessel placement.
Another objective of the present invention therefore is to provide a marker buoy that accommodates the forces of wave, swell and tidal action by absorbing the changes in the relative depth of water in which the anchor is set while maintaining positive buoyancy in a position that is substantially above the anchor on the water's surface. Additional advantage may be found in providing a marker buoy that is capable of deploying additional line when a selected line tension is sensed or retracting excess line when slack in the line is present.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a marker buoy configured such that as a tension in the line attaching the marker buoy to an anchor exceeds a pre-selected tension, the buoy automatically deploys line until a desired line tension is once again achieved. Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a marker buoy that includes a controller having a motion activated switch that activates a motor to operate a line spool to retract line and apply tension to the line.